


Imaginary Friend

by Engineerd



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, homeschooled adrien, this is pure ladynoir fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-03 04:35:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14561001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Engineerd/pseuds/Engineerd
Summary: Alya went back to typing on her screen. “You’re right,” she agreed. “All that pressure? No wonder Ladybug made herself a boyfriend.”“Chat Noir is not her boyfriend,” Marinette scoffed.In which Ladybug summons Chat Noir as her lucky charm one day.(She keeps summoning him.)





	Imaginary Friend

It wasn’t the first time Marinette had summoned an animate lucky charm - one day it had been an actual squirrel to chew through her restraints - but it was the first time her lucky charm had been a _person._

If it was a person?

The black-suited boy stared at her with wide, too-green eyes, before his gaze flicked behind her and he screamed, “LOOK OUT!” and dragged them both to the floor.

She landed on top of him with enough momentum to keep them rolling out of the way of the akuma’s bomb-like tennis balls, and hid the two of them behind a car that was shaking from the effects of the tennis bombs on the other side.

The boy blinked at her, looking confused. “Ladybug?”

Marinette looked him up and down. He was wearing what seemed to be a _leather_ suit, with boots and a tail-like belt that dragged behind him and - were those ears? “What am I supposed to do with you?” she wondered out loud.

“Do with me?” he echoed, looking down at himself, poking an honest-to-god _bell_ around his collar.

“You’re my Lucky Charm,” Marinette told him, feeling silly. Did she have to explain to a manifestation of pure magic what it was?

“Oh,” the boy said. “Huh. That’s new. Where do you want me, Ladybug?”

Marinette smiled. “Tell me about it. Do you play tennis?”

He cocked his head. “Um, I’m not bad, I guess.”

She’d always thought that if her Lucky Charms could talk, they would tell her what to do, or at least chirp words of confidence like Tikki. Marinette eyed him again - there must be some reason for giving her something that was four-parts-boy, one-part-cat - but she couldn’t figure out what. “Okay,” Marinette said, reaching up and ripping a car door off its hinges. “I’m going to steal the akuma’s tennis balls, you hit them back in his direction.” She handed him the door.

The boy stared at the car door offering in confusion. “Um, Ladybug, do you even know what tennis is?”

The car shook violently as it was bombarded from the other side. Her earrings beeped once in her ears. “Do you play tennis or not, Cat Boy?” Marinette shouted, and leapt out from behind their cover.

The wind whistling in her ears as she swung from her yo-yo drowned out the boy’s shout from behind her, but she had to trust that her Lucky Charm knew what it was doing. At the highest point in her arc, she threw her yo-yo at the akuma’s ball bag, yanking the end and whipping the bag towards her Lucky Charm’s position.

He jumped up on top of the car and used the door like an arm-guard, using the wide surface area to bash most of the tennis balls back to the akuma, who fell back under the force of his own explosions. Marinette swooped over and snagged the sweatband off his head, ripping it up.

“Yeah!” she heard someone whoop joyfully, and jumped as the black-suited boy landed next to her with a click of metal-on-pavement. “Did you see me?” he asked her, grinning widely. “You were like - _woosh!_ And I was all _bam!_ That was amazing!”

Marinette smiled distractedly, cleansing the akuma. Her earrings beeped twice.

 _“You_ are amazing,” the cat-boy continued, eyes flitting from the white butterfly back to her. “You come up with plans like that on the spot every time? I knew you good, but to see it up close - I mean - _wow.”_

He was taller than he looked, now that they were both standing. “I couldn’t have done it without you,” Marinette answered, and then froze. She’d gotten her wish - her lucky charm was gushing even more than Tikki on her loudest day. “Although, since you’re my lucky charm - I guess I couldn’t have done it without me, either-”

The boy laughed. It was the most beautiful sound Marinette had ever heard. “I’m honored to be here, Ladybug,” he said.

“I have to send you back,” Marinette said wistfully, gesturing to the potmarked street around them. “To put everything back to normal, and stuff.”

He froze for a moment, leather ears wilting infinitesimally, but then perked back up and winked at her. “That’s true,” he said. “But if you ever want to hang out again, you know where to find me.”

Marinette reached out her hand to take his and release the spell. “I’ve never been able to control what I summon,” she said wistfully.

He plucked her hand out of the air and bowed to kiss the back of it. “I believe in you,” he murmured, cat’s eyes staring back up at her.

Marinette _blushed._ “Miraculous Ladybug!” she called in a panic.

The streets were cleaned. The car door she’d ripped off returned to its rightful place. The boy disappeared.

Her head was ringing from more than just her earring’s countdown as she swung home.

 

* * *

 

Adrien jolted as he found himself, once again, sitting at his desk in his room.

“Whoa,” he said out loud. He glanced down at himself, but the black leather suit was no more - like it had never even happened in the first place. Heart hammering, he turned to his computer and typed in the address of the Ladyblog, wondering -

There was a video posted 10 seconds ago titled _The Tennis Menace._ Adrien clicked on it, eyebrows raising as he saw himself drop out of thin air in an outfit his father _never_ would have approved of.

He pulled it off, though.

The very first comment on the video popped up by a stranger asking _Who is that?_

Mouth feeling dry, Adrien typed back _His name is Chat Noir._

 

* * *

 

Marinette rushed back to class late, as usual, but at least it was only study hall and Alya was late, too.

“Girl,” Alya announced, sitting them down at a corner table and opening something on her phone. “You have _got_ to see this. I think Ladybug summoned herself a boyfriend today!”

 _Don’t blush,_ Marinette told herself, carefully keeping her eyes on the video playing on the phone. “Oh,” she said, her voice a little higher pitched than usual, “Really?”

“Shh, just watch,” Alya ordered. Marinette usually tried to avoid watching herself - it always just made her self-conscious of where she could have been more efficient - but this time was different.

The leather catsuit was even tighter on camera.

“Whoa,” Marinette whispered, watching the boy hold the car door like an arm guard and leap athletically in the air to hit the tennis balls just right.

“I _know!”_ Alya squealed. “Just wait for it. He bows and kisses her hand right - here. My viewers have dubbed him Chat Noir already.”

“Chat Noir,” Marinette whispered, and then watched as he vanished into a swarm of ladybugs. “He wasn’t real, though. He’s just Ladybug’s magic.”

“Ladybug’s magic is _cute,”_ Alya said.

Marinette gaped at her. “What happened to Nino?”

“Girl, chill,” she ordered. “I can look. And besides, it’s like, objectively cute. You know how ladybugs are good luck and black cats are bad luck? Ladybug made herself a friend. A _theme-matching_ friend. I have to make icons of them when I get home.”

Marinette restarted the video. “I bet Ladybug would love to have a partner,” she whispered.

 

* * *

 

“- _arm!”_

Adrien woke up to the sound of the wind whistling in his ears before he was caught by a pair of surprisingly gentle arms. He blinked himself awake to the face of an angel above him. “Ladybug?”

She beamed back at him. “Chat Noir!” she replied, smiling. “That’s what your fans have named you, anyway.”

He glanced over himself as Ladybug placed him on his feet. He was wearing the black catsuit again. “I’m back,” he said in surprise.

“I’ve been trying to summon you all night,” Ladybug said. “My kwami was getting annoyed, and usually she loves it when I try to practice. I got a mirror first, and then a pocket watch, but now here you are!”

Adrien felt the grin break out over his face. “You did it!” he said. “There’s not an akuma, is there?”

“Nope,” she answered. “Just practice, like I said.”

“Oh,” Adrien said, and shook himself. “Sorry. I was sleeping.”

“Sleeping,” Ladybug repeated, glancing down at the yo-yo on her hip. “So that’s where you go.”

He didn’t want her to frown like that. “I go where you tell me to, my lady,” he said, leaning down to position himself between her eyes and her yo-yo.

She laughed and pushed him away. “I’m your lady now?”

“Get it?” Adrien chirped. “My ladybug is good, but it just doesn’t roll off the tongue the same way.”

Ladybug smiled at him, but stilled when a beep rung through the air. “What was that?” Adrien asked.

She raised a hand to her ears. “My miraculous,” she said. “It beeps on a countdown. After I cast lucky charm, I only have five minutes before I change back.”

“Oh,” Adrien said. Four minutes left, then, before he was sent back. “At least we know you can summon me again.”

“You were really helpful yesterday,” Ladybug said, clasping her hands together. “I wanted to thank you.”

“No need to thank me,” Adrien said. “It was the highlight of my life. I get to be a superhero! I got to meet you!”

“You’re just telling me what I want to hear because you’re my lucky charm,” Ladybug accused.

“It’s the truth!” Adrien said. “It’s not like I was doing much, anyways.” He didn’t have any modeling gigs in the next few days, and homeschool when Natalie was required by his father (which was more and more often, these days) was quite boring.

Ladybug’s smile faltered. “Right,” she said. “I wish you were real.”

“Hey,” Adrien said, stepping forward and putting his hands on Ladybug’s shoulders. “I know I’m no you, but I promise that whenever you need me, I’ll be here for you. I’ll practice so I can get really good at - I don’t know, karate and stuff. I still won’t be a _real_ superhero, but you’re not alone.”

Her earrings beeped again, and Ladybug fell away. “Thanks, Chat,” she said softly. “I - I needed that.”

He smiled back. “That’s what I’m here for, my lady.”

“Goodbye,” she said, and tapped him on the chest.

Adrien blinked, and woke up horizontal on his bed.

 

* * *

 

“Marinette, you’re good at math,” Alya said, shoving her laptop in Marinette’s face.

“Good at measuring is not the same as good at math, Alya,” she sighed, but adjusted the screen in front of her anyways. “What am I looking at?”

“You’re a genius,” Alya said. “Look, so the facts are that ever since Ladybug summoned Chat Noir the first time, she’s summoned him in roughly 2 out of every 3 akuma attacks since. Which of these graphs look the best to you?”

Marinette scrolled through. “The one with the dates looks good,” she said. “But why do you need a graph?”

“Why do I need to make a graph?” she echoed. “Are you serious? Chat Noir is basically a full-on second superhero!”

“He’s a lucky charm,” Marinette said. “A useful lucky charm, but-”

“Are we sure she’s not summoning him from another dimension, or something?” Alya said. “Who knows how her powers work? Maybe instead of just being a magic thing, she’s actually meeting up with her counterpart from Earth-2 who-”

“You read too many comics,” Marinette said. “Ladybug has told us her superpower is creation. She creates all her lucky charms. That’s it.”

Alya quirked her eyebrow. “If she does, she’s creating something that flirts with her an _awful_ lot for a magical construct-”

“Chat Noir has been getting better every time,” Marinette interrupted. “Like, that magical staff? That’s genius.”

“That’s true,” Alya said. “Although it looks like it’s been there the whole time, which begs the question - is Ladybug upgrading him, or has she just been summoning the same guy over and over and he’s learning?”

Marinette faltered. “Um,” she said. “I don’t know. I hope it’s the second one.”

Alya whirled on her. “Giving up on your creation theory already?”

Marinette glanced down to her hip, where Tikki was resting in her purse. “It’s not that,” Marinette said. “It’s just - it’s a little sad, otherwise. Even if it’s only a magically-created friend, at least she has a friend to help her, and who remembers her. If he’s fresh every time, if she just makes what she wants to hear, it’s just - not real, you know? And her life is probably lonely enough as it is.”

Alya went back to typing on her screen. “You’re right,” she agreed. “All that pressure? No wonder she made herself a boyfriend.”

“Chat Noir is not her _boyfriend,”_ Marinette scoffed.

Alya clicked to a different Excel tab. “Really?” she said, pointing to a graph title _Flirtations per Encounter._ “Because I have data that suggests otherwise.”

 

* * *

 

Since becoming Chat Noir, Adrien had all but stopped fighting his father on the whole homeschooling issue. It was hard enough to explain the times he disappeared out of his dressing room and reappeared 5 minutes later - if he was in a real school, it would be nigh impossible.

There was no rhyme or reason to his daytime disappearances, but at night Ladybug was pretty consistent. He appeared about 15 minutes after midnight, on this little balcony filled with flower boxes in a neighborhood he didn’t recognize. He was much better at landing on his feet.

“Hi, Chat,” Ladybug greeted. She was sitting on the floor with her knees hugged to her chest.

Adrien dropped down across from her, sitting with folded knees. “Hey, Ladybug,” he returned. “Long day today?”

“Yeah,” she answered. “No akumas, at least. Just regular-life stuff.”

“Oh, man,” Adrien said. He wanted to reach out and take her hand, but resisted the urge. “Hey, do you go to a regular school? I’ve always wondered.”

She stared at him over her knees. “Yeah, I’m in collège.”

“Wow,” Adrien said. “I’ve never been to public school. I always thought it would be nice, you know? Meeting new people, learning in groups.” Ladybug frowned, looking away from him. “Of course, it might also suck,” he added hurriedly. “I’ve heard lots of complaints about it. And on TV, you know, everyone hates school, so...”

Ladybug’s earrings beeped once, which seemed to snap her out of her thoughts. She unfolded her legs and leaned forward. “Hey,” she said urgently. “I heard a theory today that you’re actually a superhero from an alternate dimension that I can summon for help. That’s not true, is it?”

Adrien chuckled. “No,” he said. “I’m only a superhero when you need me to be, unfortunately. I wish I had my own set of earrings. You wouldn’t be able to keep me away.”

Ladybug returned his smile, but she still seemed sad. “I wish that too,” she said. “At least you’re honest with me. My kwami has not been helpful. She just keeps saying a lucky charm is a lucky charm, like I have any idea what that means.”

“You’ve mentioned that word before,” Adrien said, leaning in also. “What’s a kwami?”

She tapped on her earrings. “She’s the power behind Ladybug,” she said. “It’s hard to explain. When I detransform, my earrings turn black and Tikki - that’s her name - pops out. She’s very nice, but very mysterious. There are a lot more rules to being a superhero than you’d think.”

Adrien frowned. “She’s _in your earrings_ right now?”

Ladybug’s earrings beeped twice.

“Is she doing that?” Adrien asked.

“It’s just the cost of a lucky charm,” Ladybug answered. “It was always like that, even before you. It just happens.”

“That is a lot of rules,” Adrien said.

“I’m used to it.”

“And you can always vent to _me,”_ Adrien said. “So. Back to your long day. What happened?”

Ladybug sighed. “We kind of covered it already,” she admitted. “I was talking to my best friend - my _real_ best friend - I mean, my civilian friend, not that you aren’t - I mean - you’re my - you’re -” she blushed, waving a general hand in his direction. “You know?”

He cut her off with a laugh. “I know what you mean, Ladybug. 5 minutes here and there does not a solid friendship make.”

“It’s different,” she said, relaxing. “You’re the only one who knows me as Ladybug. It’s not like anyone knows my secret identity.”

Her earrings beeped three times.

“You could tell me,” Adrien said. “I’ll keep your secret. Then we could hang out whenever we wanted, for _as long_ as we wanted. Living on a countdown is driving me crazy. We could...”

Ladybug was shaking her head. “Tikki said I shouldn’t,” she answered. “It was the one thing she was specific about, actually. She said if the earrings ever got lost and fell into the wrong hands, they could use you to get to me.”

Adrien’s heart skipped a beat. “I say we risk it,” he said.

“I don’t even know if a lucky charm would stick around after I detransformed,” Ladybug said. “How would you get here?”

“I’ll sneak out,” Adrien said. “Don’t worry about me, my lady. Getting the chance to see you is worth _anything.”_

“Not your safety,” Ladybug said. “Hawkmoth already has the butterfly kwami. If he took my earrings, he could turn you into a _slave.”_

“I’ll refuse to work,” Adrien said. “Unless you tell him-”

Her earrings beeped a fourth time.

Ladybug sighed. “I’m going to change back soon.”

Adrien swallowed. Her life was already hard enough, she didn’t need him making it any worse. “I understand,” he said. “Get some sleep, bugaboo. I’ll still be here tomorrow night.”

“Actually,” Ladybug said, “I’m sleeping over at my friends’ house tomorrow night. Plan for two nights from now, unless something happens.”

Adrien snatched her hand up and kissed the back of her knuckles. “I’ll be counting down the minutes,” he said. “Sweet dreams, Ladybug.”

Her eyes reflected the streetlamps like stars. “Goodnight, kitty,” she said, squeezing his hand.

Adrien blinked, and found himself once again in bed.

 

* * *

 

The sapotis were _everywhere._ Individually, they were nothing to write home about, but their sheer numbers-

“Lucky charm!” Marinette shouted. She _needed_ an extra set of hands right now, and even with Chat Noir she wasn’t sure how they’d be able to…

An orange-suited girl fell gracelessly onto the ground. “Oof,” the girl huffed, pushing herself up onto her elbows and brushing her bangs out of her face. She glance around, her gaze landing on Marinette’s ankles and traveling up with confusion to her face. “Ladybug?” she asked, confused. “What happened?”

Marinette stared back. “You’re not Chat Noir,” she said, her voice faintly accusatory.

The girl glanced down at herself and _shrieked,_ jumping in the air with much more force than necessary. Marinette caught her on the way down this time, observing as the girl pushed herself off and examined her outfit, staring for a long time in particular at her fluffy white-tipped tail. “Oh my _gosh!”_ she shrieked. “Am I your lucky charm?”

“Yes,” Marinette answered, cocking her head. She’d fought an akuma that looked vaguely like this, once. “Hey, is there any way you can make illusions with your magic flute?”

The girl’s eyes widened. “Like Volpina?” she asked.

“Yes!” Marinette said triumphantly, and then paused. “You’re not Volpina, are you?”

“Gosh, no,” the girl answered, feeling over her back hesitantly and pulling out the flute. “I’m just a huge fan. You might know me, actually, I’m-” she stopped and looked around. “Is it safe to talk here?”

Marinette’s earrings beeped. “Not enough time,” she said. “Quick, we have to hurry.”

They managed to cleanse the akuma just after her fourth warning. “Yes!” the girl was crowing beside her - a lot like Chat Noir had, his first time. “We did it! We saved Paris!”

“We did,” Marinette said, something feeling sour in her mouth.

“Does this mean you’re going to bring me back all the time?” the girl asked. “I need a superhero name! Not Volpina, I want to be - Rena Rouge! Oh, I can’t wait to see a picture of myself, I’m-”

“Thanks for all your help, but I need to cleanse the city now,” Marinette said, reluctantly holding out her hand for Vol - _Rena Rouge_ to take. If she kissed the back of it, Marinette was going to scream.

Rena looked crestfallen. “Oh, right,” she said, reaching out reluctantly. “Well, if you ever need me again, my name is Alya Cesaire, I run the Ladyblog.”

Marinette blinked. “Miraculous Ladybug,” she said, instead of answering. She ran into the first door she could find to hide her detransformation, leaning on the door she’d slammed shut behind her and panting as the magic peeled off.

“Tikki,” she demanded, “What the hell? That was _Alya?_ Or was it a fake magical recreation- _”_

Tikki sank down into Marinette’s purse. “Of course it was Alya, she told you,” her kwami mumbled, settling down for a nap.

“Then what was my lucky charm creating?” Marinette screeched, bringing her purse up to eye-level. “Don’t fall asleep now, Tikki, I need _answers.”_

Tikki peeled one eye back open. “It was creating the partnership between a chosen and a miraculous,” Tikki answered. “Your partners are just like you, Marinette. What did you think you were creating?”

Marinette’s heart pounded. “I thought I made everything from _scratch!”_

“You’re not a god, Marinette,” Tikki said grumpily. “That’s a little too much magic, even for a pure kwami. I’m sorry, but can I nap now? Unless you have something to eat - the fox miraculous is on another continent, it was a stretch to summon it here -”

“We summon Chat Noir all the time,” Marinette said.

“The Black Cat miraculous is also in Paris,” Tikki said. “Please, Marinette. Give me some time.”

“Okay,” Marinette said.

She raced back to Alya’s place, doing a fair job of demanding to know where Alya had gone and why she wasn’t answering her phone.

Alya froze. “I, um, I was kidnapped by sapotis!” she stammered. “Yeah. Nothing happened! I don’t have any footage. Nope.”

Marinette stared at her friend, who was undeniably blushing and staring at the coffee table. “I heard there was a new superhero tonight,” Marinette said. “Not Chat Noir, but a girl.”

Alya turned around comically fast. “REally?” she squeaked, and then cleared her throat. “Um. That’s so cool!”

“Yeah,” Marinette said, smiling. “It was.”

 

* * *

 

Adrien didn’t see Ladybug again until two nights later, as promised, but he was surprised when she tackled him in a hug as soon as he appeared. “Whoa, Ladybug,” he said, arms coming up cautiously to return her embrace. “Are you okay?”

She was smiling as she pulled back. “Yeah,” she said. “I’m pretty great. I just...” she coughed, and backed away self-consciously. “Um, yeah, hi.”

Adrien smiled back. “Hi,” he said softly in return. “I heard you have another friend. You’re not replacing me, are you?”

Ladybug giggled. “Don’t be jealous, kitty. It was probably a one-time thing. She’s harder to reach.”

“Good,” he said, eyes narrowing. “Otherwise I was going to have to resort to drastic measures. You can’t just get me used to being a hero and then cut me off cold-turkey. I would have to try to make my own black leather catsuit, which would be _hard_ to explain - Ladybug?”

She was staring at him. Her earrings beeped once. “You said you’ve never been to school,” she said suddenly.

“Yeah, I’m homeschooled,” he said.  

“Oh my _god,”_ Ladybug said, reaching out and punching him in the shoulder. “You’ve been real? _This whole time?”_

He rubbed the spot. “Of course I’ve been real,” he said. “As opposed to...what? Is this that alternate dimension thing again?”

“It’s stupid,” Ladybug said. “You’re stupid. What if I just happened to bump into you on the sidewalk? Would you even recognize me?”

“My heart would recognize yours from a 1000 yards away,” Adrien declared grandly.

Ladybug sent him a flat stare. Her earrings beeped twice.

“Um...no,” Adrien said. “I mean, you’ve said before that your own parents didn’t even recognize you, so why would I? I’m just…” he shrugged. “Your sidekick.”

“You’re my _partner,”_ Ladybug snapped.

“I’m not your equal, Ladybug,” Adrien answered lightly. “I don’t even have my own miraculous.”

Ladybug’s eyes snapped to his. “No,” she answered. “You don’t have it, but...it’s close.”

“Close?” he asked. “How close?”

“I don’t know,” she answered. “In Paris. That’s all I’ve got.”

Adrien felt like his bones themselves were starting to vibrate. “I could get a real miraculous,” he said. “I could be your _real-life_ partner. You could have me _and_ a real lucky charm and -”

Ladybug’s smile could light up Paris by itself. “Yeah,” she said softly. “Everything.”

Her earrings beeped a third time.

“And we wouldn’t have to live on this stupid countdown,” she added. Adrien threw his head back and laughed.

“I don’t know, my lady,” he said. “I kind of like our midnight rendezvous. They have mysterious allure, romantic atmosphere, a charming hero and heroine-”

“Charming,” Ladybug repeated. She was probably going for skeptical, but…

“Are you blushing?” Adrien asked, delighted.

“What?!” Ladybug squeaked. “ _No,_ I’m not - _you’re_ the one blushing, I mean - it’s dark, how can you even-”

“I have night vision,” Adrien said cheekily, tapping his mask. “I can see everything _purr_ fectly.”

Ladybug’s earrings beeped a fourth time. “Can you, now?” she asked, reaching out her hand. “Well, did you see this coming, Chat-”

Adrien woke up in bed.

He flopped back down onto his pillow with a laugh, giggling into his hands like a madman. He could be Ladybug’s partner, her real _partner._

The second he was really Chat Noir, he decided, he was going to kiss her. It was going to happen someday. Someday _soon._


End file.
